"Of course at Halloween people are looking for the macabre,' says Robert D. Nation, director of the Fort Lauderdale version. "They want the unusual and surely [Rocky Horror] is not the usual fare."

Timing is everything.

"I doubt if we would have done [the show] in June," admits Vicki Halmos, founder of Entr'Acte Theatrix in Palm Beach. "Something about that just doesn't ring right. It was something we always wanted to do. The theater [Crest Theatre in Delray Beach] was available and the fabulous Kevin Black was available to direct."

Black, who lives in Plantation, says he grew up on the campy classic movie version "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" with Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Meat Loaf but was caught off guard by the script for the stage version.

"The most surprising thing about the script is that it was very short and not much direction," explains Black. "It's kind of like Shakespeare in that you could mold it into whatever version you wanted. That opened a lot of doors creatively. So i made a conscious decision to not watch the movie again and to just see what came to me."

What came to him was to make the Transylvanian chorus into phantoms and Dr. Frank-N-Furter's crew "more along the lines of punk meets goth meets futuristic."

Nation says that the Andrews Living Arts Studio version - staged in downtown Fort Lauderdale's F.A.T. Village - will be closer to the big screen version.

"Our intent is to honor the work of Tim Curry and the original cast of both the show and the movie since Universal has pulled the rights with the intention of doing a remake,' explains Nation. "On Halloween night we're doing it outdoors, surrounded by graffitti from the art gallery next door."

The Entr'Acte Theatrix production runs Oct. 25-Nov. 4 at the Crest Theatre at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts at Old School Square (51 North Swinton Avenue in Delray Beach). There are evening performances and matinees. Tickets are $25 and $10 for students with ID. To order, call 561-243-7922 or visit EntrActeTheatrix.org.

The Andrews Living Arts production runs Oct. 18-Oct. 31 at the ALA Studio in F.A.T. Village (23 N.W. 5th Street in Fort Lauderdale). There are 8 p.m. evening performances and late night 11 p.m. shows. Tickets are $24.95 in advance; $29.95 at the door and $16.95 for students with ID. Tickets to the "Rocky Horror Costume Ball on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. are $24.95 and $24.95 (if you are in costume). To order, call 800-838-3006 or visit AndrewsLivingArts.com.

Today's Headlines Newsletter

Delivered weekdays

A digest of essential news, insight and analysis from L.A. Times editors.